Population climber: S.D. is gaining people as if it were a Sun Belt state

State's growth rate sixth-best in U.S. from 2010 to 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Heavy traffic at rush hour on Minnesota Avenue reflects the rapid population growth in the state's largest city. A surge in Sioux Falls and surrounding communities has driven South Dakota's steady gains. The state is up 3.5 percent the past three years. / Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

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GOING UP

Population increases among states in the region from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2013, according the U.S. Census Bureau. North Dakota ranked No. 1 in percentage increase and South Dakota No. 6:

Population

Increase

North Dakota

723,393

7.6%

South Dakota

844,877

3.8%

Nebraska

1,868,516

2.3%

Minnesota

5,420,380

2.2%

Iowa

3,090,416

0.5%

Nation

316,128,839

2.4%

More

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If slow and steady wins the race, South Dakota is setting a good pace.

The state’s population grew by 3.5 percent in the past three years, making South Dakota the sixth-fastest growing state — seventh including the District of Columbia — according to data released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The estimate pegged the state’s July 1 population at 844,877, up from 816,211 three years earlier.

The national population during the same period grew by 2.2 percent, to more than 316 million.

Fueled by its energy boom, North Dakota led the nation in growth with 7.3 percent, followed by the District of Columbia with 6.8 percent.

While North Dakota’s rate was more than double South Dakota’s, Mary Medema, the director of workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, said she would not trade South Dakota’s population growth for that of its neighbor.

North Dakota’s rapid population growth puts pressure on communities to provide services and infrastructure, she said. By contrast, the growth in South Dakota has been steady, and the economy in Sioux Falls more diverse.

“There’s no other situation like that,” she said of North Dakota’s boom. “You have to go back to the gold rush days.

“All they have is work,” she added. “That does not make a life, in my opinion.”

The census numbers are tracking with estimates made by the Rural Life and Census Data Center at South Dakota State University. SDSU predicts that state’s population will hit 852,624 by 2015 and 977,574 by 2035, said Eric Guthrie, a graduate researcher at the center.

The state’s population growth has come from migration and higher fertility rates among Native Americans.

“If you’re looking at fertility, you’re going to see Natives having a larger impact, and you’re going to see migration to metropolitan areas — Rapid City and Sioux Falls, but more Sioux Falls,” Guthrie said.

The rate also mirrors the state’s growth in K-12 public school enrollment, which this year stood at 128,294, a 3.7 percent increase from three years earlier.

Regionally, the South and West continued to lead the nation in population growth. Only one state, Rhode Island, registered a net loss in residents.

Growth is a sign that businesses and residents are betting that a community will be a good place to put down roots, Medema said.

A growing community can provide services, activities and economic opportunities so that children aren’t forced to relocate to another community in order to make a living.

“I can tell you that for anybody with kids, that has a lot of punch,” Medema said.